Michelle Stevens - Redefining Self Care Through Movement

Welcome to the Real People, Real Business show. My name is Stephanie Hayes and I'm a business strategist and coach who loves to speak with like-minded entrepreneurs to share their real stories in the gritty details of building their businesses. On this show, you won't hear about glamorized entrepreneurship journeys that you see online. You won't be told how to make six figures in six weeks. Instead you can expect to hear real vulnerable and inspiring stories you can relate to that have helped create the foundation for each of our guests, businesses. Goodbye, boss babes. Hello, real life entrepreneurs today. I'm so excited to welcome Michelle Stevens. Michelle is a body compassion and movement mentor who supports women in ditching the diet and fitness culture so they can upgrade to movement of self-care welcome to the show, Michelle, and thanks so much for taking the time to share your story today. Hello. Hello. It's good to be here. Yes. I'm so excited to talk to you because I'm very curious. And I think a lot of people will be very curious around this direction that you have chosen in your business. And I know that you have a really great story. So why don't we just jump right in? How did you get to where you are now? Um, in terms of, in terms of the business journey, um, I've actually been in the online business world for over 10 years. Um, but a lot of that has been finding myself, finding my brand. What is it that I wanna speak about what really is the foundation of things? Because I could have moved forward with, uh, Relying on my exercise science background, I have a bachelor's of master's in exercise science, and I could have just done a typical fitness business. Um, I tested out doing a diabetes coaching business for a while as well, under two different brands. And. Then that started to get tricky. I knew what my scope of practice was, and it's different when you're talking patient to patient about what you do to take care of yourself. It's very different when you're exchanging money for that. Um, and from those two brands that led to I'm owning it all, which was really what I was doing at that time was figuring out okay. Owning my wild side, essentially. Um, and then that led to my body, my queen and this brand has anytime. Somebody's like, well, you could change the name of it. And there's just a very strong, no, in me. And it's just saying, no, this, this is the one, like, do not run from me. Um, but I started. Even though I was looking at a, like very traditional clinical, uh, clinical career. I grew up around network marketing, like literally like drawing in the back of a conference room while, um, while all those presentations were going on. And so the dream of owning my own business was there from a very early age and listening to personal development. Um, And I, I just knew I always wanted to help people. And I thought that that was gonna be an avenue for it in doing nutrition and fitness. Um, but, uh, in 2014 I actually had a near death experience because I was trying to follow, um, fitness, fitness as usual and a doing a. Detox diet. Um, and had I listened to my intuition and my knowledge, my education that I already had, I never would've been in that situation, but I overwrote it. And the doctor that I was working with at the time when. Symptoms started to show up. Also overrode her education and it, a month later it just turned into this giant mess. And, um, when I woke up in the hospital, I was like, I'm still here for a reason. If this could happen to me, this could happen to anybody. And, um, and from there, I was just able to really reassess where I had been. And a lot of this over the past few years has been. Walking away from really strict things and figuring out what's right for me. So I know intuition is a big part of what I teach self care, dealing with energy management and chronic illness has been another piece of it. And the movement stuff, fitness still wants to be there, but in the last few months, it's like, no, we gotta just do the self care first. Then as we get better at that, then we can add in fitness on top of that foundation. So it's been a huge journey. I really, I really love this because I live in a place that is, um, ju like it's, it's known, and it's almost like a, a bit of an inside joke that this is where people come when they are. More than recreationally active, right? Like this is our whole town is built around outdoor recreation and the, and you know, being Squamish active means that you are basically a professional athlete, right. So it's, it's an extremely, um, it's an extremely high expectations in terms of fitness here. And so everyone's perspective is a little bit skewed and I find that, um, I find myself wanting to have permission to think about fitness in a, in a different way. And, and that the, the priority is self care. I know fitness is like bleeding anxiety. It's also, I know I need to be gentle with myself. And so I like how you're sort of bringing that, that new perspective on fitness and focusing on movement instead, because that is really what the benefit is. ISN. absolutely like our muscles and are so happy if we're moving. Um, any movement at all is going to, it's gonna help your heart. It's gonna help your muscles. It's gonna keep you functional, um, as you age over time. And that's, that's really the big thing it's you don't need to be. You don't need to have a six pack in order to be healthy after retire. Like you don't need to like aspire to that, but you, people need to find something that fits and that works that they can sustain. And so, like the fun piece is part of that. And the, um, does it help you clear your head and feel better at the, at the beginning or the end of the day or the middle of the day? Um, those are the things that are sustainable. Yeah. And I think when the expectation is like, I, I can only work out if it means that I'm getting a six pack or that I'm, you know, I'm gonna come out of here looking like, you know, an eighties fitness model , which I don't know, that's really something to aspire to, but you know that, how do we shift some of that thinking, cuz you're, you've got a big job ahead of you, right? Mm-hmm there's been decades of this, of this perspective on fitness. Yeah. And I grew up in Southern California. Mm. So, and not only had that around me all of the time where eating a salad was kind of virtue, signaling and eating. Anything else was bad. Like if you actually bought something more than vegetables, it was saying something. Yeah. Yeah. And then, and then being in exercise science with people who were top athletes and are transitioning in, you have even more of that and strength and conditioning pros. So I came from a dance background. I had a ton of like imposter syndrome around all of that. And am I doing it right? And do I look like a personal trainer? Would somebody hire me if I don't. If I actually have my curves, um, which are how I'm structured, um, and having type one diabetes, my metabolism's different. So a lot of that has just been honoring that. And as a business owner, it's honoring that. I need to make sure I don't get too stressed. Otherwise I'm gonna have. Flare up with high blood sugars or my asthma might flare up or, um, my thyroid stuff might get off, affects our digestion. It affects our, how we process pain. Um, and so there's definitely been. Overlap in all of that. Yeah. When I really started to paying attention to my own chronic illness needs, things got a lot better. And I started to realize why I wasn't pursuing the, um, eight module course with three videos and three PDFs in each module. It just along with working a full-time job, it wouldn't have been sustainable to do that. Um, So it's been interesting to explore different, different business models from that lens. So tell me a little bit more about, cuz I, I know I've known you for quite a few years and I've, you know, sort of watched on the periphery, you know, where you're headed. And so tell me a little bit about where you've kind of landed now. Like who are you working with? How are you working with them? Um, how have you come and business models are my thing. So I'm really interested to hear kind of what you've landed on. And I know that these also evolve. So tell me a little bit about, about where you're at right now. Uh, where I'm at at the moment, um, has really been shaped by being in this pandemic for two years. Um, because I could work from home in my full-time job and I could actually be involved. The online communities I was part of, I could show up for zoom calls and not just watch the replay and I could interact with people in real time. So when they were saying things like I'm so burned out right now, we could talk about that. And they're like, but I gotta push through this launch. And I'm like, but what if you didn't. Like, what if you actually took a break for a second or what if you dialed it back a bit? Um, and, um, I've tested out workshops, um, doing live workshops, which really helped me get clear about it. Actually just reinforced that I do know what I'm talking about. Like in creating a 90 minute presentation, it just helped restore my belief of things. And I was seeing. People really did need energy management. Um, but in order to sustain that, that requires more people in my circle. Um, and so what I've been exploring is doing, um, one day. I don't wanna say intensive, cuz that's actually like the opposite of my, my vibe. Um, and I don't know that chill 10 would like, you know, take off, but um, I'm working on that foundation. First of working with online business owners because in the past 10 years, I've definitely seen so many people launch and then completely need it and write an apology post that says, Hey, so sorry. I can't get up from the couch right now. So we're gonna push back the start of this course by three days or something, cuz they already gave their all in a launch. So I'm creating this one day experience to get people, at least provide recovery after a launch or potentially prepare for their launch in that way and making. Self care part of the launch plan. I love this. I think this is brilliant because I have been involved in a lot of launches with my clients too. Yeah. And. Although, I actually really love them. Like I, to me, that's like really energizing at the end. You're just like, , you're just, it is absolutely. And to know that the next day you've gotta like go right into the next thing. Imagine if every business owner who's going into a launch, cause I don't think launches are bad. Like I, I know how important they are to, um, the way people buy. And I think you could do them in really healthy ways that are not, you know, manipulative or. um, whatever, but, and for some people they're the right model. Mm-hmm , but what if for every launch you built into your launch schedule and your launch budget some time with Michelle, right. And you're giving your chance yourself a chance to just like chill, right? Yep. Yep. It, it wasn't until I went through truly launching myself and doing that live workshop model that I was like, oh, This really is part of the deal. Like no matter how much I scaled back or self did the self care, there is an adrenaline dump that happens afterwards and our body responds in any number of ways. Um, so do we necessarily need to deliver the day after cart closes? Not really. I've only seen like one or two people. Create a break from themselves in between that? No, I, we start a week from now. Yeah. That's perfectly fine. And like, like the, the momentum has to be around the launch and then when people have decided, and they've committed, there's no reason that we have to like, okay, tomorrow we're starting. a week out is fine, or just giving yourself some chance. So is, so tell me a little bit about what you do in inside your one day intensives. Cause I know I saw you present at, um, um, Jordan's event as well. And so this is a model that you've been adopting. So tell me what happens when I work with you inside of an intensive. Yeah. Um, so it's still a work in progress to be completely honest, um, with my. With my specialty, if you will, um, with chronic illness, I'm obviously gonna ask about that and what do people know as their, uh, reaction to stress and their flareups? Um, And what's their energy management like right now, are they already gotta kind of know what that baseline is? Are they already kind of burnout and they need to do this launch to stay on schedule or what have you. Um, and what's their, what's their fitness and nutrition, like looking like at the moment. Because I'm not, even though I'm a personal trainer, I'm not here to start somebody on a brand new fitness thing, but they haven't been doing anything. Hey, let's like sprinkle in some walks throughout the day. Doesn't need to be 45 minutes can be 15 minutes at a time, you know, and slowly ramping things up. Um, what I like to see, and this, this is a framework that I'm playing with right now is, does it have. Does their self care have energy management? Do they know how to say I have a high, medium, or a low energy day not overdo it on the low energy days and know how to taper back on or not overdo it on the high energy days. And can they taper back on the low, just even that will change a lot of things. And then if that's all we're working on, that's all we're working on. But if the person's really at a place where things are stable, they're able to maintain their health. Well, then we can talk about movement. Uh, Nourishment, whether that's at food or soul. Um, and then pleasure. Are they getting pleasure? Are they getting play? Are they getting rest um, because that's the other thing, no matter how, like prepared, you try to be for a launch, they're still gonna be late nights that are likely to happen. Um, especially for the first time launching something. So looking at those pieces and like what's, what's the priority, honestly, movement is probably not the biggest priority. It's the energy management and that rest piece. I, I agree. I, I know I work with a coach as well, and she's like, listen, here are your CEO tools, right? Quote, unquote CEO tools. You know, every day you do, and this is customized for me and knowing how I work. But every day you do, um, some outreach every day. You do, uh, one of these, these customer, you know, uh, nurture activities, and then you have energy management. And for me, that's getting outside. Like I live in probably one of the most beautiful places in the world and it's all nature. And. For me to just go for a walk outside with a dog is like, it's like a clearing cleansing. It's an Energizer it's, that's what I need. And so whatever energy management means to you, that needs to be part of like a, a commitment, right. Especially during a launch, especially during some high energy activity, like, like that yeah. Yeah. And as we get. As we build awareness around that NRG management piece. It's not so much it, it's not just about the day to day management. We can also anticipate things of, Hey, okay. Um, things get crazy around the full moon. Oh, I know what's going on in this part of my menstrual cycle. I can adjust accordingly. Um, do not overscheduling or knowing when you need to recover from something that is scheduled and. as you get to know yourself a little bit more, being able to plan accordingly so that not running into that burnout. That pro that proactivity is so important, right? Like I can imagine you working with somebody on a, you know, for a three to six month basis and helping them create these patterns and these habits within their, within their life so that they, they can look ahead and they can say, look, I've got this thing happening, doing a workshop next next week or three weeks from now. I'm going to literally schedule into my calendar some buffer time on either side of that so that I know I have the chance to, you know, bring my brain down. And I know I get physically tired when my brain is working too hard or is on and on and on. Right. Which I know sounds sort of cliche, but it's actually really true. Like I find it's almost like working out. Right? Yep. And that mental energy is a. So you have, um, I know that you have taken on some activities for you. And I, I think what I always loved for about you was that you, you will like absolutely shamelessly pursue whatever is making you feel really happy and energized. And I know Paul is part of that, right? So tell me a little bit about that journey and, and how you're giving people permission. To I played roller Derby because I was like, that looks really fun now. It's not really good for me because it hurts a lot. Yeah. The injuries high there, but why can't we, why can't we also be doing something that's just fun? We absolutely can. Like, and that's probably the better way to go because we're more likely to pursue something that's fun rather than something that feels like punishment or another task on our to-do list. Like a sweaty, painful task on our to-do list. Like so finding an outlet that works is great. I mean, what I love about pole is it's strength and it's grace and it's pulling in the. Music aspect of it. Um, and I've just been, and then I pull some comedy in there too with like my music choices in terms of what I'm actually gonna post on Instagram. Um, because I love wearing onesies and I found like, yeah, I did a video in a zebra onesie and I have one where I'm wearing Cal print booty shorts to a song that's. All about like, I'm a cow I knew my friends would enjoy that. Um, yeah, so it does make it more sustainable. But even though I have a pole in my basement doesn't mean I'm always motivated to get that done. Um, so I've explored different ways where I'm like, oh, okay. I can get a wrap for my pole. So that I can get on that pole even in pants, or I don't have to worry about when I last used lotion, because that is a thing. Um, you fun fact, uh, the reason why. People show a lot of skin when they pole dance is because they need that to grip the pole. Mm. If you try holding onto a pole with clothes, you will slide right down. And then also lotion is an issue. Um, and so I've been overthinking that too much, quite honestly. So I'm gonna get a pole wrap and then start doing some strengthening exercises from there. And. So I can build up my skills again. Listen, I have tried poll . I was not very graceful at all. And it's hard. Yeah. It's like a, it is a workout mm-hmm and it's very difficult. So I, when I watch you, I'm like, I know how that feels. That's like a little, that's like a lot yes. And if it, and so I think this permission that fitness doesn't have to be fitness and movement. Doesn't have to be. like CrossFit or like grinding. Cause I know that that just sends my whole body into like inflammation. Right. Mm-hmm and so how are, how do we change the script? Like how do we, cause I, I'm not sure that I don't know if you're working with, you know, super hardcore athletes or these are people who are like, oh my God, just building this. Like another thing I know I want it, but. They're still thinking CrossFit and you're over here going, Hey, it's okay. Like it's gonna be just as beneficial to you to just dance on your pole or go for a walk or whatever it might be. That feels really like, oh, I can do that. Yeah. The big, the big differentiator is to know, is there, what kind of goal is attached to it? Right. If somebody says, I wanna run my first 5k, then, okay, there's gonna be jogging in your future. Or if they really feel like they need to run a marathon or do a sprint triathlon or something like that, training does require that consistency and being systematic about the approach. But if it's just, I know that moving is good for me and I wanna make sure. I'm still moving and grieving. When as, as I age then can have a little bit more of a like relaxed approach to it because honestly our bodies do need it. It, the whole thing of, if you don't use it, you lose it is, is. Scientifically true in fitness as we get older, um, it actually takes more work to maintain the same amount of muscle. Most people don't know that. So if we don't get into some kind of relationship and the heart is a muscle, um, with cardio or building up our strength, then, um, then aging becomes more difficult. I feel that I feel that a lot as I'm getting very close to 50, it's like, you know, , it's wearing down it's it's your body changes a lot in your forties. Mm-hmm and it's really hard to accept. And what used to be really easy to do you just kind of give up now, right? Yeah. And are you working with any people kind of in that age category that are just like, whoa, this, this whole decade is starting to like. It's a whole readjustment, right? My body's a very different thing now. Yeah. It's, it's been slowly calling my name. Just little whispers. Yeah. Because I do love, um, back in high school thought I was going to be an endocrinologist. Hormones are fascinating to me. Um, so I do look at how do things change with menstrual hormones. Um, and then obviously there's a big shift in perimenopause and then menopause itself. Um, and that muscle building piece is an important part of it with metabolism. Um, so yeah, it's not something that I'm, I'm claiming just yet, but, uh, I've always worked with, I I've always attracted lots of age groups, essentially. Yeah. So, and, and I'm more on that, like general, general population side, and I have a special health concern side. Yeah. So are you working, do you specialize or are you working with a lot of people who have diabetes? Um, you know, I'm starting a couple years ago when I went on Twitter, the type one diabetics that I was finding were very academic and completely on top of all the research. And I was like, I don't think I'm diabetic enough for this to keep up with these people, like, Hmm. Okay. Um, and then now the people that I'm finding on, uh, diabetic Twitter, if you will, um, the diabetic online community, um, there. Millennials and gen X and they're a lot more like sassy and, um, and I'm seeing who I used to be in all of that, um, where I thought I had to work out super hard all the time, but that just makes blood sugars go bonkers quite honestly. Um, so there's some, there's something that's there. Even if I just create like a pay, what you can kind of workshop of, Hey, this is what you need to know about exercise and type one diabetes, which. Is the population that requires insulin, no matter what. Um, yeah. Um, but there's also different concerns for type two diabetics. Some of them can be insulin dependent, um, or they may be approaching that and be able to, they may just be on oral medications. That's a different set of concerns and it starts getting like, Pretty complicated, pretty fast gestational diabetes. I, I had gestational diabetes and it was the, the concern there is it's so temporary that you don't really almost, you almost don't take it as seriously. Right. And, and my daughter came out almost dead because I hadn't managed, I hadn't known enough to manage all of my blood sugars. I was diabetic. And so she was quite, she was quite unwell when she came out and she had, she, they couldn't even register any blood sugar in her body. Right. Like it was so there's like an education component there too. That, that needs to happen for all of like all of the people who are kind of going through this temporarily as well. Cause it can actually have pretty severe effects on definitely on your baby. Right. which right. Absolutely. I mean, our blood sugar is. The source of giving fuel to ourselves. Yeah. For everything. And gestational diabetes is so fascinating because it doesn't really get, I think the oral glucose tolerance test doesn't even happen until the third trimester. And so you just have a few short months of this to suddenly go through this boot camp of nutrition classes. To figure out what it is you're supposed to do. Um, so it is a huge ask. Absolutely. Honestly, they didn't like, nobody really took it that seriously. They're like, yeah, you've got gestational diabetes. So just, you know, watch your blood sugar do some exercise. I'm like, okay. Yeah. and then my baby's almost dead, so nothing. Yeah. That's so great. No, that's so great. No, wasn't super fun, but she's, she's good now she's 14 and that's good. Good. Very alive. Yes. Um, So, so let's talk business again. Uh, so, so you are currently serving, you know, these online entrepreneurs and you are working with them in intensives and you also have a full time job. And so you're kind of balancing these two. What is the, what's the sort of the future vision? Um, we're still, I'll be honest. It, it having type one diabetes, it's hard to visualize, um, not having the security of a fulltime job security in quotes, um, of a full-time job with insurance that's paid for. Um, my insurance right now with my full-time job is good. Not great. So, I mean, I gotta look at those beliefs anyways. Um, And I've always seen. I'm like, well, you know, if my business gets to a certain point, I could do cardiac rehab, which is less of the, um, thought worker kind of stuff. And more of actually guiding people through exercise day in, day out, bringing them back up to a functional spot. But, um, it, it's only right now that it really feels like, oh, oh, this could be a reality without me. Burning myself out and all of that. So, um, I'm gonna see where the next year takes me. Yeah. And see what happens from there. Yeah. I mean, it strikes me that there's a, like, you're in a really good position right now to, to capture a very specific audience, especially those who are starting to dip their toes into entrepreneurship. Right. To me, I don't really think we have online entrepreneurs anymore. Like I think business is just business and the online piece is just a necessary component. Like I have a really hard time distinguishing between the two, unless there's, you know, really a bricks and mortar side of the business. So I think like the. The exponential growth in entrepreneurship over the last, you know, five years even is, has you in a pretty good place because this, I think this whole industry is starting to wake up and be like, Hey, there's life outside of these things are not separate. We need our businesses to match our lives and we need to consider a lot more than. Tactics. And we, you know, what does our energy look like? And I know that if people who don't have their energy sorted have a really hard time being successful in their businesses, because it's just like not there, right. and energy comes from a lot of different places. So I think you're really well positioned. And, um, I think it would be interesting to see how you evolve in terms of how you can deliver your offers in ways that still allow you to maintain. Kind of full time job until such time as you don't have to. Yeah. I mean, uh, well over 10 years ago I was like, you know, I wanna be paid to work out was my thing. And so that's another, um, another thought that I come back to. It's like, and, and that would be the piece of it is like, if I'm not having my full-time job, Hmm. I may actually have more space to personal train over zoom and creating very structured programming for people and walk them through that. Um, But I have to keep like monitoring myself and being like, ah, do I have bandwidth for that right now? Mm, not so much. Yeah. And that's, that's a tricky position, right? That's the, that's always the, the holy grail is like, how do I manage both of these things to a point where I can grow. You know, without ruining both mm-hmm and to the point where I can like exit, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the, the pandemics put us in a very interesting position where so many people are going through the same journey around health at the same time where I've been talking about self-care for years and years, and now people are catching onto it and they're like, oh, oh, burnout. They're ready to hear it. Yeah. Yeah. They're ready to hear it. I think they're also ready to redefine it, right. Because when we hear self-care we're like, oh, bubble baths and one, I don't know, I'm not a bath taker. I don't want a bath, but self-care can be really different for a lot of different people. And like all the way from budgeting from good financial management is self care. And that's been part of my journey too. Cleaning, like having organizing, you know, all of that stuff can be self care, even though it feels like work, it puts you in such a different head space. Right. Exactly. And that, that is the key is like, what's your head space afterwards? Like, does it, does it refresh you? Do you, are you able to breathe a little bit? Yeah. And I think the, the, the trick there is how do we teach people that to make it a, a part of like a business require. Right. Mm-hmm so, you know, as much as we want a marketing strategy and we, we need to make sure we have, you know, systems in place and that sort of thing also also, how are you managing your energy? Mm-hmm yeah. Which is fundamental part of your business model. Right. Right. And, and that's how I've looked at it. It's like people have. People have marketing coaches. They, they have social media coaches. They have somebody who specializes in email marketing. They have, um, somebody who's helping them design their actual course and all of that. And I'm like, where's the health piece. Hmm. Oh, I love that for you. I love that. Yeah, that sounds great. Um, and how are you finding clients right now? What I've. So in the past year I've done, um, Actually no, uh, two years in a row, I was part of a bundle and that was really helpful for growing my list. Um, and I've gotten to know some of my subscribers out of that, but what I've realized is the people who end up working with me are people that I've already had conversations with that already know me that already know what I'm about. Hmm. Um, so. Right now I'm gonna be my project for the summer is shifting to more of like an affiliate referral model. Um, and pursuing that. Um, I wanna do, I wanna do bundles. I wanna do summits, but I know that I've created such a community around me. That it's really just having conversations with people. Yes. Being like, Hey, what are you up to? Yeah. I mean, talk about self care. One of the worst things that everybody does is expect themselves to do everything right. And to try, you know, oh, I should be on TikTok and I should be on Instagram and I need to create content here and I need to do this and I need to be on summits. And, and, and, and I, I know that this year I just kind of went, you know what, forget it all. There's pieces of things that I'm gonna do just for fun, you know, when, and if I feel inspired to do it, and the only, like the only thing that is an absolute necessity for me is connections and outreach. Just having conversations and making friends. That's it. Yeah. What a, like what a relief, right? Absolutely. Yeah. So I think you can bring all of this, all of this thinking into more tactical business strategy as well. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. For sure. So I, I resisted TikTok for so long cuz people are like, you would be great on TikTok cuz I actually dance. Um, But I just resisted adding another platform for forever. And I did finally break down like last week and me too. give it a try. I was like, okay, let's give it a try it. I had no idea. It was literally simpler to create. Uh, a TikTok post than it is to make it Instagram real. I was like, they sync up your music for you. Yeah. They pick your music for you, what and they, and the, the reach is unbelievable. Like someone has been telling me over and over and over again to do this. And I'm like, no, no, I like, that's not my kind of content. Like I'm a little bit more. Like my brand is a little bit more sophisticated and a little bit more. And so I'm not gonna be dancing and doing the pointing and stuff like that, but she's like, you don't have to, right. You can create your own brand of content, but there is. And I, so I just like, oh, I'm just gonna make some dumb video and put it up and see what happens. I think it's like, it's got almost 10 times the reach that and is I put the same video on Instagram, so it's like, oh, okay. And I feel like it's sort of wild west and it's like ready to be redefined. . Yeah. Yeah. And then here we are ticked off. My kids are like, oh God, don't , I'm like, I'm gonna tag you in all my posts. They're like, don't do not . So I have a question for you that I ask most people on the show, and I'm super curious to hear your response. We're all about real stories. We're all about, you know, what's, what's actually happening out there in the business world. So what is the difference between what we hear. Out in the business world, in the online business world and what's actually real in business. Uh, so I did my homework and listened to a couple podcasts. So I was prepared for this question. thought it out. Um, and it's the. Most marketing and promotion is way more long term than anybody actually talks about. Yes. It's more on the nurturer long term spectrum than it is the, okay. I'm gonna do a promotion and everybody's gonna buy. Yeah. I mean, yes. There's like conversion rates and all of that, but the likelihood is that people are probably gonna see a couple of your launches. And then they're. Yeah, totally. I have had people on my list for four years before they ever bought anything from me and I don't sell low ticket anything. Like, that's just not me and that's not my brand, but they will take that long. But what people, I think forget is that marketing is not about the content it's about consistently being at the front of the mind for all of the people who are out there and who are watching you. So they're constantly remind. Right. They're constantly reminded that you exist. They're constantly reminded that you do this thing. And at some point in time, it's just gonna click with them, but it's absolutely long term. And when people get so downtrodden about not seeing immediate results to their efforts, just had this conversation with a client the other day, like this is, this is a long game. So even though you've realized the shift you need to make, and you did it. It has to percolate, right? Like it has to take time before you train your audience to behave differently. Yep. Absolutely. I love that. I love that. Awesome. Okay. So what's next for you? Uh, I'm doing, I'm doing a lot behind the scenes this summer. Um, but. I'm reminding myself. I'm like, okay, get your priority list straight. Don't hide behind that task list. Um, but it's gonna be a lot more conversations about things it's gonna be officially launching this, um, one day VIP experience and, um, also. Editing the editing, the workshops that I've already done so that there are in bite size pieces. So they're in, um, so they use hello, audio and people have a podcast version of it. And some of that is just going back into, okay, what are my golden nuggets out of that? And then creating my content out of that, of like what already exists. Um, so yeah, um, There's potentially one or two new opt-ins that are coming by the end of the summer. Um, one might be specifically about adrenals, uh, cuz our adrenaline just is a big piece of that launch strategy. And then the other is, um, part of my philosophy of embracing the curvy, which is that in a, in a like feminine kind of energy. Things are changing all the time. Life always happens. And life happened for me in a big way recently. Um, and I had to just step back and not post on social for almost two months and, and all that. Um, but there's also the, the monthly changes that we have the phases of. Where we are as women. So, um, yeah, I think I'll have some goodness posted and ready to go on my website by the end of the summer. I like this. I like that sort of feeling of just accepting and, and letting the change happen because we ti we always fight it. Right. We always like, oh no, here comes menopause and it's not fun. Being in the middle of it, but I, it's also just kind of like, yeah, it's gonna happen. Right. And then there'll be something else. And so we're always rushing to try and get to like an end state, but it just never happens. Right? It's not, that's not real for us. So what, whoever invented that expectation has caused a lot of heart rate PERB break for lunch. As women, we change so much over the course of our life. We show up differently every single like week to week. Very, very different. Um, yeah. I mean, the good thing is that when you get to menopause, you don't have the hormone fluctuations. Anymore things are a lot more chill. I know. I can't wait. I'm like right in the thick of it right now. And I will tell you, I am like fine with that. we'll get there. okay. Uh, we're coming up on time, but I wanted to just ask you, can you tell all of our listeners how they can find. Yeah. Uh, you can find me on my body, my queen.com and then, uh, Instagram's been my primary playground. Um, so at my body, my queen, and what's the best way for them to get started with all of the work that you do. Send me a D. Yeah. Okay. That sounds great. Yeah. Okay. And so we'll put all your links up there in the show notes, so you can find Michelle and I just wanna thank you so much for taking the time to chat today. I think this is actually really, really important for a lot of the people who I know listen to this show who are in my audience, and I really would encourage you. If you're listening to the show, get in touch with Michelle, go check out some of her content. Um, this is a really important thing for all of us to be aware of and to try and manage inside of our businesses so we can continue to be successful and feed our businesses. And that's a wrap. So I'm so happy to have, have the opportunity to chat with Michelle today, to hear more about her business, how it came to be her experiences along the way and what the future holds for her business. And thank you for tuning into this episode of the real people, real business show, where we get the real entrepreneurial stories and journeys that you can relate to the show notes, resources and special offers from this episode are available on the website. And on all of my social media platforms. If you've enjoyed today's content, I would love for you to give us a review on whatever platform you're on to help us share these genuine stories with an even bigger audience until next time, keep building, keep dreaming and keep being real.